Andor Episode 6 contains a tragic Rogue One Easter Egg

Andor Episode 6 spoilers to come.

We’re only halfway there Andor Season one and already being hailed as one of the best war of stars Entries still – take this, Boba Fett’s book.

Away from the usual Wookiees and swishing lightsabers of the Skywalker saga, Andor follows in the footsteps – or rather, goes ahead – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story during the rise of the Rebel Alliance, as the Empire places the galaxy in a Darth Vader-inspired stranglehold.

serve as Villain One Prehistory, Andor (as the name suggests) focuses on Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor. He has joined Genevieve O’Reilly as the returning Mon Mothma and Forest Whitaker, reprising his role as Saw Gerrera.

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Even though Andor The first season takes place five years before the events of Villain OneThere were already a few winks for the screen sister. If you’ve been listening carefully to October 12’s “The Eye,” you might have heard a tragic connection to Gareth Edwards’ 2016 film.

Given the high body count of Villain One – and the fact most Andor‘s characters didn’t appear in expanded canon – all bets were on who would live and die during the group’s assault on an Imperial garrison.

Although we managed to avoid the “Bury Your Gays” trope Vel (Faye Marsay) and Cinta (Varada Sethu)we lost Taramyn (Gershwyn Eustache Jnr) and the fate of Lieutenant Gorn (Sule Rimi) remained unclear.

Cassian himself did light work with the sneaky Skeen (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) in the aftermath, but it’s the death of Alex Lawther’s Karis Nemik that really touched our hearts.

While Cassian and company got away with the payroll, Nemik was crushed by a stack of their winnings and looked bad. Despite becoming the four-armed (and brilliantly named) Dr. Quadpaw, Nemik died on the operating table.

What makes Nemik’s death all the more tragic is an obscure nod to the fate of a similar fan-favorite in Villain One. Fans took to Twitter to note that the last word Nemik said to Cassian was “rise.”

A nervous Cas didn’t know how to dodge a chasing squad of TIE Fighters, but thanks to Nemik, they eluded their attackers in the visually stunning Eye of Aldahni. Nemik’s “Rise” spell seems to mirror the last thing K-2SO said to Cassian Villain One.

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in the Villain One, the rocking robot sacrificed itself under a hail of bullets and locked the doors to the data vault on Scarif. This allowed Cassian and Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) to escape with the Death Star plans.

Without the sacrifice of K-2SO, we would look very different war of stars where Luke and the Rebellion would not have been able to take out the Death Star, Darth Vader would have succeeded and Sheev Palpatine would likely have reigned forever.

Nemik’s death may not seem so important, but with 80 million Galactic Credits just scooped out from under the Empire’s nose, the Aldahni raid has rocked the Imperial Security Office and will likely fund the rebel uprising.

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As a final act, Nemik presented Cassian with his manifesto, which he aptly dubbed “The Role of Mercenaries in the Galactic Fight for Freedom.” It proves that he had always trusted Cassian, and while it may only seem like a seedy book, it could be an important memento in winning Cassian over to the cause.

If it wasn’t important, then why? StarWars.com updated their official database to include a full entry on Nemik’s thoughts? Remember, we’re five years away from this doomed mission to Scarif Villain Oneand right now, Cassian is just a mercenary you can hire.

It’s unclear where we’re going next, but with Cassian poised to return to Stellan Skarsgård’s Luthen Rael on Coruscant, everyone’s motives will become clearer in the second half of the season.

As for K-2SO, a nod to his ultimate fate seems like a decent introduction to the character’s potential Andor Arrival. Although Alan Tudyk warned against it He will not return as K-2SO in the first seasonLuna was recently asked by total movie about the character’s timeline debut in season two, saying coyly, “Our next season ends where Villain One begins, so I think that answers everything!”

Unfortunately, we already know how K-2SO’s story ends, much like we know what’s coming in Cassian’s grim endgame. Nevertheless, with another 18 episodes of Andor Before the beaches of Scarif come into view, let’s enjoy the sinister mercenary and his extended circle of “rebel scum” while we still can.

Andor is broadcast weekly every Wednesday Disney+.